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Turkish Press Review, 99-08-09Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>09.08.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..[02] 'ECEVIT'S NEW DEFINITION OF TURKISH LEFT' -BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)[03] SPECIAL KOSOVO[04] DENIZER KILLEDThe General Secretary, of Turk-Is and Chairman of the General Mine Works Union, Semsi Denizer, was killed on Saturday. He was shot dead and his assassin was captured with his gun. An official inquiry into the assassination is underway. A burial ceremony was held for Denizer yesterday in Istanbul, attended by high-level officials. /Turkiye/[05] AGENDA OF THE TGNAThe Turkish Grand National Assembly will deal with a crowded agenda this week. The Parliament will discuss International Arbitration, the Tax Law, the Social Security Reform and Political Party Law. It is expected that coalition parties will be in consensus and approve International Arbitration which will enable foreign capital investors to invest in Turkey. They will also overcome disputes concerning the Social Security Reform between the government and the representatives of the workers. /Turkiye/[06] CONTROL OVER IRAQI OILIt is announced that the Iraqi oil which was illegally transported to Turkey will be taken under control. Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has established a facility at the Habur border gate in order to control the transport of the oil. It is expected that the oil will be sold at 202,000 TL a barrel. It is also announced that the State will earn at least 4.8 quadrillion TL per month by placing the Iraqi oil under register. /Aksam/[07] THREE NEW POWER STATIONSThe Energy and Natural Resources Ministry has already finalized its draft of a tender for three new power stations (HES). According to the Ministry, Ikisu, Orhaneli and Duzce-Aksu power stations will be constructed using the 'build-operate-transfer' system. Conditions for the tender of the power stations to be constructed in Giresun, Bursa and Bolu have been laid down and will be accepted within next few days. /Aksam/[08] DERVISOGLU IN VARNAThe Commander of the Naval Forces, Admiral Salim Dervisoglu has gone to Varna, Bulgaria, to attend the 120th celebrations of the establishment of the Bulgarian Naval Forces. Before the ceremony, Admiral Dervisoglu met his Bulgarian counterpart, Peter Petrov. The Turkish frigate 'Salihreis' (F-246) represented the Turkish Naval Forces at the celebrations. /Aksam/[09] GREEK-CYPRIOTS' 'TURKISH ANXIETY'Greek-Cypriot politicians are insisting in using the slogan 'Turkish anxiety'. The Education Greek-Cypriot and Culture Minister, Uranios Yoannides, called on Greek-Cypriot young people 'to struggle against Turkish diffusionism'. According to the Greek-Cypriot 'Mahi' newspaper, Yoannides reiterated that Turkey had invaded a part of Cyprus. He added, "Ankara's presence on part of Cyprus is also related to the Aegean and Thracian issue. Therefore, it is repsonsibility of all Greek people to prevent that danger." /Aksam/[10] INCREASE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUTIt is announced that there was a 0.9 % increase in industrial production output in June compared to the same period last year. According to the State Statistics Institute (DIE), with this increase in monthly out put, it is the second time that the manufacturing industry has been at such a positive level. It is added that there has also been an increase in the electric, gas and water industries. /Star/[11] MINISTERS IN THE SOUTHEASTState Ministers Yuksel Yalova, Edip Safter Gaydali, and eight Members of Parliament laid the foundation stone of a primary school yesterday in the Kayabaglar township of Kurtalan, Siirt. Later they went to Baykan township of Bitlis to see the recent situation of schools in the region. Yalova said that educational initiatives has been accelerated, and more schools will be constructed in the region to increase the general level of educational." /Star/[12] PKK IN LEBANONAfter Syria extradited Abdullah Ocalan and signed an agreement with Turkey, Lebanon took over the patronage of the terrorist PKK organization. According to the Turkish Intelligence Service (MIT), PKK members in Europe are using Lebanon as a passage to Northern Iraq. Despite Ankara's insistence, Lebanon refuses to sign an agreement to cooperate in struggling against terrorism. /Star/[13] TURKEY'S INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISINGInternational sports organizations are very important in promoting a country. The 'Master Rally '99' which started in Moscow and ended in Istanbul has taken Turkey to the top in the international media. The award ceremony for the Rally which was held at Beylerbeyi Palace in Istanbul was as magnificient as the Rally itself. The Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Murat Sokmenoglu, and Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay attended the ceremony. After the ceremony, drives who took part in the competition said that Turkey had shown them great hospitality and they would visit this country as tourists as soon as possible. /Sabah/[14] "MILLENIUM EXPRESS' TO COME TO TURKEYThe 'Millenium Express' has set off on its way from Russelsheim train station Germany to visit the main train stations in Europe. The German Opel Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary with this train exhibition. Officials from the company announced that there are also members of the press from every European country on board. They expressed the message that the train embodies as follows: "The train will give on idea about the past and also the future of the automobile industry." They announced that the train will arrive in Turkey in November 2000. /Sabah/[15] MORE MEETINGS WITH IRANThe Supreme Security Commission set up between Turkey and Iran will convene today for the sixth time in order to discuss border problems and security issues concerning the two countries. The Commission meetings to be held at the Interior Ministry building in Ankara will end on August 13. The Interior Ministry Undersecretaries of both countries will chair the meetings. It is reported that the two Turkish soldiers detained by Iran will be released within this week. According to the 'Iran News' newspaper, the two Turkish soldiers will be released within one week as an indication of goodwill due to the persistent requests of Turkish officials. /Hurriyet/[16] 1,000 VICTIMS OF MINING ACCIDENTS IN NINE YEARSIt is reported that more than 1,000 people, wounded in mining accidents, have been treated by both the State and Dicle University hospitals in the Southeastern region of Turkey during the past nine years. The Head of the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department in Dicle University's Medical Faculty, Prof.Serdar Necmioglu, said that the the number of the wounded was highest between the years 1992-1993, whereas this figure has decreased since 1995. /Hurriyet/[17] OPERATION IN GAZIANTEPTwelve people including five women who are allegedly members of an illegal organization have been detained during operations in Gaziantep. Officials said that the suspects are now being questioned closely. /Milliyet/[18] CONFUSION IN GERMANYWhile the Head of the Organization for the Protection of the Federal Constitution, Peter Frisch, said that the call made by the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, requesting that PKK terrorists 'leave Turkey' was trustworthy, another member of the same organization has stated that the call would not alter the fact that the PKK is the most dangerous terrorist organization in Germany. /Milliyet/[19] FOREST FIRES IN ISTANBULAs a result of a forest fire in the Gaziosmanpasha Habibler district of Istanbul, 17 hectares of forest have been burnt. Meanwhile, in another fire which broke out in four different locations in Kemerburgaz, Istanbul, five hectares of pine forest were destroyed. Following a fire in the Umraniye district of Istanbul, 2,000 square metres of land covered with heath has been damaged. /Milliyet/[20] PERINCEK SET FREEThe former Chairman of the Labour Party, Dogu Perincek, who was sentenced to a 14-month term of imprisonment by Ankara State Security Court (DGM), has been set free by taking advantage of the Execution Law after 10 months in prison. Perincek was released from Haymana Prison yesterday. It is reported that Perincek will hold a press conference in the upcoming days. /Hurriyet/[21] BORROWING SURVEY BY TREASURY ON INTERNETThe Treasury will conduct a survey on its Internet Web site concerning the 'Primary Dealer' system planned to be designed for this September. The system aims to confer some privileges on those institutions which are 'market constructors', thus increasing their liquidity. Officials from the Treasury, Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) and the Capital Market Council will convene on Monday and review the recent preparations for the system. /Hurriyet/[22] BANKS PURCHASE TREASURY BONDSIt is reported that nearly all of the borrowing certificates issued by the Treasury have been purchased by banks. The Treasury issued state and treasury bonds worth 13.5 quadrillion TL during the first six months of this year for domestic borrowing. Out of this total, banks purchased bonds worth 11.8 quadrillion TL, which constitute 87.1 % of the whole. /Milliyet/[23] SOLAR-POWERED TOURISMThe Japanese are extremely interested in the solar eclipse which will be best viewed from Turkey on August 11. Hotels in Kastamonu, Tokat, Amasya, Sivas, Elazig, Diyarbakir and Batman have already been booked-up by many tourists in particular from Japan, the US and France. The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) has set up camps in order to support the events being organized for the last solar eclipse of this century. /Milliyet/[24] INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR 'ESKICI'A documentary called 'Eskici' (Dealer in old clothes), prepared as part of Documentary Programmes series by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation's (TRT) Ankara Television station, has won its fourth award. The documentary directed and produced by Taha Feyizli was nominated the best and most professional documentary among those documentaries submitted by the 17 countries which participated in the third Documentary Meeting organized by the Asia-Pacific Publication Union in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Furthermore, the national television channels of Japan, Thailand and Mongolia have requested to purchase the documentary. /Milliyet/[25] FOREIGN INVESTORS WILL MANAGEThe first aim of international arbitration is to abolish the authority of the Council of State in those agreements that envisage vitally important public services such as energy, water distribution, transport and health to be taken on by foreign firms. However, the defenders of international arbitration are trying to hide this goal by talk of "the involvement of globalization" and "the obligation to be in accordance with international norms." One of the defenders of liberal opinion has declared, "the declaration titled "International arbitration is not a capitulation but one of the conditions for economic globalization" and explains the aim of arbitration as follows:"As part of the `build-operate-transfer' system, international investors will not only invest,but also manage the operation over a long period of time in Turkey. Therefore, they will have two demands concerning their management process. Firstly, the liberalization of the electricity sector, in other words, to take the prices out of the public sector's control; secondly, the giving of authority to the international arbitration foundation in disputes. Turkey put "arbitration" into her law system in 1926 and gave it the authority to solve disputes between firms. In 1988, the "Arbitration Centre for the International Investment Disagreements", dependent on the World Bank was accepted as the arbitrator in disputes. It is reported that in spite of public reactions, the government considers international arbitration to be a life-saver because there is a dept that takes 70% of tax incomes and 40% of the Budget. The defenders of this opinion draw our attention to the fact that the portion left to cover interest payments from the Budget has increased from 3% to 40%, whereas the proportion left for investments has decreased from 40% to 5%. This proportion left for investments cannot even meet the 4 billion dollars of investments that Turkey has to make each year in order to meet her energy needs. Therefore, it was reported that the government has no choice but to stick to multinational firms to undertake these vitally important investments. The government hopes for help from international arbitration for these essential investments, whereas international monopolies strongly desire to take on public services which present the least risk and the most profitable investment areas. The hand-over of large public service establishments is considered to be the only thing that sharpens multinational firms' appetite. /Cumhuriyet/ [26] HEROIN SEIZED ON THE BORDEROn the Bulgarian-Turkish border, at the Kapitan-Andreevo border-gate opposite Kapikule, a kilo of heroin was captured in the early hours of this morning. Svilengrad Custom's Press Attache Kalina Petrova stated that these narcotic substances were found in an Volkswagen Golf carrying a Yugoslavian number plate. The Yugoslavian driver of the car and his Bulgarian compatriot have been placed under police supervision. /Cumhuriyet/[27] TOURISM IN MUGLAIt was reported that in the last seven months more than 600,000 tourists had come to Mugla and its neighbourhood comprising the important tourism centres of Marmaris, Bodrum and Fethiye. 230,000 of the 608,170 foreign tourists arrived by car, coach, air and ferry in July. In these areas there has also been an increase in the number of tourists from other parts of Turkey due to a decrease in prices, and the rate of hotel bookings reached 90%. /Cumhuriyet/[28] 19TH EUROPEAN YOUNG MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPThe Turkish national team won against the Irish national team with a score of 79-62 in the Preliminary Group of the 19th European Young Men's Basketball Championship held in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. Thus, the Turkish national team which took its place among the top three teams with four victories and one defeat, gained the opportunity to participate in the second round matches to be held next year. /Hurriyet/[29] SECOND HALF OF TURKISH FOOTBALL LEAGUEIn the second half of the Turkish football league, Galatasaray and Besiktas faced surprising defeats over the weekend while Fenerbahce won against Vanspor with a score of 3-2. /Hurriyet/[30] MEDALS FOR TURKEYIn the European Youth Athletics Championship in the city of Riga in Latvia, Turkish sportsmen have won two gold, two silver and one bronze medal. Sibel Ozyurt became the 1,500 metres Champion following her success in the 5,000 metres. The Turkish team will return home today. /Hurriyet/[31] PRINCE CHARLES HOLIDAYS IN TURKEYBritain's Prince Charles has arrived in Datca, Turkey on holiday. Charles will sail along the coast and later berth in Marmaris Marina and Gocek Marina on his yatch "Alexandra". /Star/[32] FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..[33] OCALAN'S CALL AND HUMAN RIGHTS -BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)Sukru Elekdag, a columnist in the daily 'Milliyet' newspaper, says the following in his article today:"Comments by the press concerning the call made by the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, on August 2, have been generally misleading. This is because if the call is examined in detail, it contains nothing new. Ocalan announced in September 1998 that he would implement a unilateral ceasefire in Turkey and proposed a dialogue for a 'new peace process' as part of this deal. This proposal made by Ocalan before he was deported from Syria was not taken seriously by Turkish officials. It cannot be said that Ocalan's present call is different from his ceasefire proposal, because he does not urge the PKK to 'lay down your weapons'. He only wants PKK terrorists not to use their weapons for a while. Furthermore, Ocalan does not want PKK members to surrender, he merely wants them to leave Turkish territories for a certain period... There is nothing remarkable in this from the Turkish standpoint, because a great number of PKK members are currently deployed in the Hakurk region of Northern Iraq. In fact, nearly 3,000 PKK members out of 5,000 are in this region. A few from Anatolia will now join these PKK members in Northern Iraq. This change of location will be beneficial for both Ocalan and the PKK, because regaining control of the PKK is of great importance in order to postpone the break-down of the organization. Ocalan is pursuing a sly tactic against Turkey. He aims at placing Turkey in an intransigent position in full view of world public opinion and at preparing an atmosphere conducive to European pressure on Turkey. As a result, comments which claim that Ocalan's call has created an important opportunity for peace are unfounded. Ocalan has not displayed any courage, in parallel with his previous statements on Imrali Island". /Milliyet/ [34] 'ECEVIT'S NEW DEFINITION OF TURKISH LEFT' -BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Yilmaz Oztuna wrote in his article in 'Turkiye' today about Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's new definition of the 'Turkish Left' in Turkey. He said that Ecevit's short but clear definition of the Turkish Left has alarmed left-wing factions in Turkey. According to Oztuna, Ecevit pointed out the future of the Left in Turkey and noted that the Left which fell outside his definition would have no future in Turkey."For me, Ecevit means more than what he said. For instance: Ecevit defined the old-fashioned Left in such a way that he also threatened the Turkish Right. He warned them that if they did not catch up with the current era, they would also be faced with the same negative result. After such a wide-ranging statement by Prime Minister Ecevit, I had the idea of the probability of early elections. However, this idea only belongs to me." "Criticism of Ecevit's recent statement will continue. However, I believe there are also poeple who support Ecevit's ideas. It is certain that Ecevit's moral courage and self-criticism have already collected positive marks. With this positive atmosphere the Democratic Left Party (DSP) will protect its votes. It should also be accepted that Ecevit underlined, the same as President Suleyman Demirel, the 'rapid transformation' needed in of Turkey. Otherwise, we will hit a brick wall," concluded Oztuna in his article. /Turkiye/ [35] SPECIAL KOSOVO[36] KOSOVARS ON THE WAY HOMEKosovars who fled from the Serbean massacre and sheltered in Turkey are returning to their homes. As part of the repatriation organized by the United Nations' High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the last flight taking 129 refugees home was yesterday. It is announced that 233 refugees wish to stay in Turkey and become Turkish citizens. /Turkiye/Aksam/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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